Mars, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor in 2003.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

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NASA will host a media teleconference at 1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 13, to discuss a massive Martian dust storm affecting operations of the agency’s Opportunity rover and what scientists can learn from the various missions studying this unprecedented event.

The storm is one of the most intense ever observed on the Red Planet. As of June 10, it covered more than 15.8 million square miles (41 million square kilometers) – about the area of North America and Russia combined. It has blocked out so much sunlight, it has effectively turned day into night for Opportunity, which is located near the center of the storm, inside Mars' Perseverance Valley.

Participants in the teleconference will include:

John Callas, Opportunity project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Rich Zurek, Mars Program Office chief scientist at JPL
Jim Watzin, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters
Dave Lavery, program executive at NASA Headquarters for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers
To participate, media must email their name and affiliation to Elena Mejia at elena.mejia@jpl.nasa.gov or call 818-393-5467 / 354-5011.

Visuals accompanying the teleconference will be posted at the start of the event at: